India telecoms regulator suggests lifting M&A restrictions

India's telecoms regulator recommended ending restrictions on telecoms firms selling out, a move which will help consolidation in the world's fastest growing telecoms market.

India's telecoms regulator on Tuesday recommended ending restrictions on telecoms firms selling out, a move which will help consolidation in the world's fastest growing telecoms market.

HT Image

Currently, India restricts telecoms firms from selling majority stakes within three years of getting licence.

India's telecoms regulator also suggested telecoms firms pay a one-time fee for holding radio-spectrum beyond 6.2 mega hertz (MHz) based on 3G prices, a move that will hit established operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

India currently grants additional radio airwaves to firms when they reach subscriber-addition milestones, only charging a usage fee for the resource.

The recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have to be accepted by the telecoms ministry before they become law.

Fifteen operators service 584 million mobile phone users in India, the world's second-largest market for such services after China. The addition of nearly 16 million users each month has attracted global names like Norway's Telenor, Japan's NTT DoCoMo and Abu Dhabi's Etisalat.